CHARLESTON, W.Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--West Virginia American Water customers can see their water bills at work on the company’s interactive web-based map of its 2018 infrastructure upgrade projects. This user-friendly map allows West Virginia American Water customers to view details about water main replacement projects and other water distribution system upgrades throughout the company’s service area.
“We owe it to our customers to demonstrate how we are putting their water bills to work and making necessary investments to provide safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to keep their lives flowing,” said Brian Bruce, president of West Virginia American Water. “As a result of our distribution system improvement program approved by the Public Service Commission, we’re replacing aging water lines at an accelerated rate, and we want to be perfectly transparent with our customers about when and where these projects are taking place.”
Now in its second year, this online map application developed by West Virginia American Water’s local GIS department features locations of and information about projects completed in 2017 as well as new projects underway in 2018. West Virginia American Water encourages customers, contractors, employees, public officials and regulators to visit the map for important information about water system upgrades in their local communities. More projects will be added to the map throughout the year as they get underway.
In 2017, West Virginia American Water invested $29 million to replace nearly 30 miles of aging water lines across West Virginia, along with valves, service lines and fire hydrants – enhancing system resiliency, improving water quality, increasing flows for fire protection and reducing service interruptions. This year, West Virginia American Water plans to invest approximately $28 million to maintain this aggressive infrastructure replacement program. Accordingly, customers pay a 3.15 percent surcharge on their monthly bills (approximately $1.50 for the average residential customer) to help fund these projects.
“It’s no secret that much of the water infrastructure across the country is aging and in need of repair or replacement,” Bruce continued. “Our engineering and operations teams work closely in our local communities to identify needed upgrades and put plans into action, and we’re pleased that we can share these activities with our customers through a free online map accessible from any computer or smartphone.”
The 2018 Infrastructure Upgrade Map, which can be found on West Virginia American Water’s website under “Water Quality > System Upgrades, features summaries of project counts, total dollars invested and length of upgraded water lines across the bottom of the screen. Users can navigate the map by panning and zooming similar to other popular web-based maps and then click on individual projects once zoomed in for specific project details.
West Virginia American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 530,000 people. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,900 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 46 states and Ontario, Canada. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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